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Monday, December 1, 2014

721. Crispy Roasted Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

Chicken and mushroom, much like chicken and lemon, is a classic and made time and again for a reason: it's a winning combination. Browning a chicken in a pan is admittedly not my favorite thing to do. The smell sticks to my clothes like no other and a shower is always called for post-browning. So when I do brown a chicken, I want to make it count. Returning the crispy browned chicken to cook in the sauce is a disappointment because the skin will get soggy. So to keep the crispiness (and make my efforts valid), I bake the crispy browned chicken in the oven until fully cooked through. To serve, I place it over the sauce, and not the other way around. It was a chicken-mushroom perfection.
Adapted from Foolproof.

Cut the chicken into eight pieces, leaving the skin on.
Season the chicken pieces on both sides with a teaspoon of salt and some pepper.
Heat the oil in a large pan. Preheat oven to 400F.
Toss the chicken in the flour to coat, shaking off excess flour.
In batches, fry the chicken in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides (it will still be raw inside).
Place the browned chicken in an oven-proof dish in a single layer, skin-side up, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the same pan the chicken was browned in, add the mushroom, whole garlic, and thyme.
Saute until reduced and water has evaporated.
Add the broth and grated garlic to the mushrooms, and bring to the boil. Simmer 10 minutes.
Mash using a fork the butter with a tablespoon of flour to create a paste.
Stir the butter paste into the mushroom sauce to thicken, simmering 5 minutes more.
Taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
To serve, spoon the hot sauce over the base of a large serving platter and arrange the crispy roasted chicken pieces over the sauce.